AR-15 Rifle: A Quick History

IMAGE:  AR-15 Rifle

AR-15 Rifle:  A Quick Look at its History

When you talk about guns and weapons, one that will surely be mentioned is the AR-15 rifle. Also popularly known as Black Rifle or America’s Gun, it has extensive history and has been redesigned in the past years, until it became what is known as the M16 rifle today. This lightweight gun is made from aluminium alloys and a combination of other synthetic materials. It is one of the most versatile choices for a rifle, which is exactly the reason why it is used by a lot of people, from gun enthusiasts to members of the military. Keep on reading and we will let you know more about the history of AR-15, providing you with a glimpse of its past.

The Introduction of AR-15 Rifle

The AR in AR-15 refers to Armalite, which was its initial manufacturer. Prior to the invention of this rifle, AR10 was the most popular from Armalite’s product line. However, in 1956, officials from the army requested the redesign and redevelopment of the AR10. They required a rifle that can deliver performance as superior as the AR10 but one that weighs lesser. This gave birth to the AR-15 rifle in 1957, a scaled down version of the AR10.

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During the mid-1950s, Armalite has been burdened with financial difficulties, which significantly hindered its operations. This pressured the management to reassess their operations and arrived at a conclusion that it would be best to take aggressive measures to sustain their business. Therefore, in 1959, the right to manufacture and sell AR-15 rifle has been sold to Colt. The latter promoted the AR-15 rifle to militaries all around the globe. Modifications have been made, and this led to the introduction of the M16 rifle. Today, the trademark of the name of AR-15 rifle still belongs to Colt. Due to the popularity of this model, however, it has been cloned by many manufacturers in the past, yet few have rivalled the quality of Colt.

IMAGE:  M16 Rifle

Uses of the AR-15 Rifle
To have a better understanding of history AR-15, it will also be good to take a look at its uses in the past. The US Army is perhaps one of the biggest clients for this type of rifle. It was used specifically during the Vietnam War. During such time, however, problems were experienced with the rifle, which isbecause of the lack of training for its use and some problematic components. It has been redesigned, and since then, been more popular in the military. As a general all-purpose rifle, it is also popular among gun enthusiasts. It is an attractive choice for many gun buyers because it can be heavily customised, allowing users to have it modified based on individual preferences.

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